Portable generator

Yorkshirelad

Active Member
Oct 21, 2017
132
Stratford
Boat Info
340 Searay 86
454 Mercruisers with v drives
Ray-marine radar and gps
Engines
454 mercruisers
Hi Guys,
Have great deal on this Firman geney W2100 rated 2100 watts start and 1700 watts running. Would this be ok for charging my 37ft out on the hook?
Cheers Rob
 
First in!!! Suckers... LOL

Rob, you just asked the most contentious question that can be asked on this forum. This issue has been asked and fought over so many times, frankly most of us are sick of it.

My belief is no, it is not safe enough to risk my family, others accept those risks and use a portable generator onboard. The choice is yours. I will post a well written risk assessment by our most knowledgeable member, Frank Webster.

MM

By fwebster,

I swore I was not going to participate in another discussion on this, but I cannot let with go with only 1/4 the caution needed. The risks are far more than just CO:

Carbon Monoxide

Is simple to grasp, breathe it in a confined space and you don’t wake up. Permanently mounted marine generators have their exhausts plumbed to exit at or very near the waterline and away from closed occupied spaces.


Uncontained Fuel System Vents

The fuel systems on Honda and other portable generators are vented to the atmosphere and their carburetors have a bowl drain that releases fuel inside the generator case. That means where you run it, store it or put it under way will have gasoline fumes released in the area and if the bowl drain leaks, you have raw fuel spilled and an explosive liquid in the compartment with the generator.


Lack of ignition protection on electrical devices

The electrical components on portables are not ignition protected like marine generator electrical components are. This means you could easily have an arc or spark anytime contact opens or closes or whenever something is plugged in ot disconnected.


Lack of Continuous Grounding

Portable generators pose an additional shock hazard since the portable is not grounded to the boat or to a shore side ground. Likely not a problem with a drill or power tool, but if you connect it to your boat's AC system, you have essentially disconnected the green wire.

The Honda iU series generators are investors. An inverter drives both line and neutral so it is possible to have voltage between neutral and ground. With ground bonded the the boat's bonding system, which mean to the water, this means a shock hazard may exist that normally would not. Anyone who ignores all the above risks and insists on using a portable generator should use a very good, sensitive multi-meter to throughly prove out the electrical system. That the reverse polarity light is lit is clear indication of a potential problem.

The USCG governs only boat manufacturers and the manufacturers voluntarily subscribe to ABYC guidelines, so there is no "law" against using portable generators on boats. However, both the USCG and ABYC say using portable generators on boat is a bad idea and regularly caution boaters against it.

In spite of the fact that Honda’s advertising says that boating is a popular use of their generators, They have not addressed the grounding, gas fume and ignition protection issues and those risks do indeed exist.

If you are one of those who jumped on the CO train and the relatively few deaths attributed to CO, you are not fully considering all the risks of using portable generators on a boat. While accidents may be rare, you do substantially increase your risk of becoming a "statistic" when using a portable generator on a boat.......you put your family unnecessarily at risk when you do.

If you want to test my superficial risk theory, try this: Tell your wife you are buying a portable generator for the boat because it is cheaper and you don’t think the risk of your family not waking up one day was sufficient to require spending the extra money. Also tell her you didn’t bother to consider anything but CO and that you are not ignoring the risks if fire, shock and explosion to your wife and kids.


Let us know how the dog house sleeps……………
 
Last edited:
oh boy
 
It will be funny to watch, but I expect members that have not posted in weeks to suddenly become frequent posters on this thread...

MM
 
Hi Guys,
Have great deal on this Firman geney W2100 rated 2100 watts start and 1700 watts running. Would this be ok for charging my 37ft out on the hook?
Cheers Rob


Just make sure to put it on your bow (make sure its strapped down real well like...oh! And dont forget to keep your hatch open so all the poisonous gasses can escape from the cabin.

Enjoy fellas!

20181201_135430.jpg
 

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Just make sure to put it on your bow (make sure its strapped down real well like...oh! And dont forget to keep your hatch open so all the poisonous gasses can escape from the cabin.

Enjoy fellas!

View attachment 62580

On the bow is so common on the reservoir lakes in Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, etc. I am thankful we have some good members here from those areas, but most are not really boaters. More like water partiers and campers, usually not having any interest in boating safety details.

MM
 
First in!!! Suckers... LOL

Rob, you just asked the most contentious question that can be asked on this forum. This issue has been asked and fought over so many times, frankly most of us are sick of it.

My belief is no, it is not safe enough to risk my family, others accept those risks and use a portable generator onboard. The choice is yours. I will post a well written risk assessment by our most knowledgeable member, Frank Webster.

MM

By fwebster,

I swore I was not going to participate in another discussion on this, but I cannot let with go with only 1/4 the caution needed. The risks are far more than just CO:

Carbon Monoxide

Is simple to grasp, breathe it in a confined space and you don’t wake up. Permanently mounted marine generators have their exhausts plumbed to exit at or very near the waterline and away from closed occupied spaces.


Uncontained Fuel System Vents

The fuel systems on Honda and other portable generators are vented to the atmosphere and their carburetors have a bowl drain that releases fuel inside the generator case. That means where you run it, store it or put it under way will have gasoline fumes released in the area and if the bowl drain leaks, you have raw fuel spilled and an explosive liquid in the compartment with the generator.


Lack of ignition protection on electrical devices

The electrical components on portables are not ignition protected like marine generator electrical components are. This means you could easily have an arc or spark anytime contact opens or closes or whenever something is plugged in ot disconnected.


Lack of Continuous Grounding

Portable generators pose an additional shock hazard since the portable is not grounded to the boat or to a shore side ground. Likely not a problem with a drill or power tool, but if you connect it to your boat's AC system, you have essentially disconnected the green wire.

The Honda iU series generators are investors. An inverter drives both line and neutral so it is possible to have voltage between neutral and ground. With ground bonded the the boat's bonding system, which mean to the water, this means a shock hazard may exist that normally would not. Anyone who ignores all the above risks and insists on using a portable generator should use a very good, sensitive multi-meter to throughly prove out the electrical system. That the reverse polarity light is lit is clear indication of a potential problem.

The USCG governs only boat manufacturers and the manufacturers voluntarily subscribe to ABYC guidelines, so there is no "law" against using portable generators on boats. However, both the USCG and ABYC say using portable generators on boat is a bad idea and regularly caution boaters against it.

In spite of the fact that Honda’s advertising says that boating is a popular use of their generators, They have not addressed the grounding, gas fume and ignition protection issues and those risks do indeed exist.

If you are one of those who jumped on the CO train and the relatively few deaths attributed to CO, you are not fully considering all the risks of using portable generators on a boat. While accidents may be rare, you do substantially increase your risk of becoming a "statistic" when using a portable generator on a boat.......you put your family unnecessarily at risk when you do.

If you want to test my superficial risk theory, try this: Tell your wife you are buying a portable generator for the boat because it is cheaper and you don’t think the risk of your family not waking up one day was sufficient to require spending the extra money. Also tell her you didn’t bother to consider anything but CO and that you are not ignoring the risks if fire, shock and explosion to your wife and kids.


Let us know how the dog house sleeps……………

All I needed to know was any info out there on that particular model of generator....not a lecture lol
 
All I needed to know was any info out there on that particular model of generator....not a lecture lol

Ask a dumba$$ question that may leave in the mind of those that do not know any better that a portable generator on a boat is safe and the facts need to be stated. It really wasn't mainly directed at you, it was for the others that may read this thread for many years to come so they know.

You may do as you choose and I wish you the best of luck.

MM
 
We have a few guys at our marina that use portable gennies but only 1 that I know of for sure. He is a very longtime boater and I'm sure he takes the proper precautions but he needs the gennie for his CPAP machine. He only uses it a couple of times a year. That being said, I would hope that anybody that would use one on their boat be extremely careful and have a few CO monitors onboard. I have never used one on either of our boats but wouldn't completely rule it out if we were staying on the hook in the middle of summer but I would be sure to take any precautions I could and would hope to be able to cool it down enough before bed so I wouldn't have to run it while sleeping.
 
We have a few guys at our marina that use portable gennies but only 1 that I know of for sure. He is a very longtime boater and I'm sure he takes the proper precautions but he needs the gennie for his CPAP machine. He only uses it a couple of times a year. That being said, I would hope that anybody that would use one on their boat be extremely careful and have a few CO monitors onboard. I have never used one on either of our boats but wouldn't completely rule it out if we were staying on the hook in the middle of summer but I would be sure to take any precautions I could and would hope to be able to cool it down enough before bed so I wouldn't have to run it while sleeping.

Hope he's got plenty of no smoking signs on that boat.
 
My batter
We have a few guys at our marina that use portable gennies but only 1 that I know of for sure. He is a very longtime boater and I'm sure he takes the proper precautions but he needs the gennie for his CPAP machine. He only uses it a couple of times a year. That being said, I would hope that anybody that would use one on their boat be extremely careful and have a few CO monitors onboard. I have never used one on either of our boats but wouldn't completely rule it out if we were staying on the hook in the middle of summer but I would be sure to take any precautions I could and would hope to be able to cool it down enough before bed so I wouldn't have to run it while sleeping.

My battery system supports my CPAP machine quite nicely on 12 VDC, so there should be no excuse for running a portable generator while sleeping.
 
My batter


My battery system supports my CPAP machine quite nicely on 12 VDC, so there should be no excuse for running a portable generator while sleeping.
No idea. Just passing along what he told me a year or 2 ago
 

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